Shaffing for power transmission in motor-driven vehicles



Jan. 4, 1955 J. BEIER SHAFTING FOR POWER TRANSMISSION Filed April I4, 1949 IN MOTOR-DRIVEN VEHICLES 4 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 4, 1955 J. BExER 2,698,526

SHAFTING FOR POWER TRANSMISSION IN MOTOR-DRIVEN VEHICLES Filed April 14, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 E www Jan. 4, 1955 J. BEIER 2,698,525

SHAFTING FOR POWER TRANSMISSION IN MOTOR-DRIVEN VEHICLES Filed April 14, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INYF/VTR 0055/ .BE/FR' @MK/MM Jan. 4, 1955 J. BEIER 2,698,526

SHAFTING FOR POWER TRANSMISSION IN MOTOR-DRIVEN VEHICLES Filed April 14, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTO 1 Jose-F S5/svg United States Patent '1 2,698,526 'SHAFTING FOR POWER TRANSMISSION IN yMO'IORDRIVEN VEHICLES JosefBeien -Altmunster-'Ebcnzweier, Austria Application Aprii14,=1949, Serial'No. 875468 Claims priority, application Switzerland April-14,1948 3 Claims. (Cl: 64-1) This invention relates generally to power transmission 1m82.131s.

The present invention'relates Vto a device for coupling drive means to'fadriven means, and more particularly to a power transmission constructed to absorb torsional `forces emanating from lsaid'drive means and bending yforces emanating from -said driven means.

'-,With'theknown powertr-ansmissions used kin motor- -driven vehicles, and in'particular on railway rolling stock, the displacement occurring between the wheels and the -driving motor caused by the suspension of the axle is taken care of by the relative movement of various parts. With the individual drives of electric railway rolling stock a construction is known in which the movement of the .axle resulting from-the action of the spring in relation vtovtheparts fixed to the frame of the vehicle is taken Vup solely by the deformation of springs. With this Vdesign several coil springs are mounted tangentiallywithin the circumference of the driving wheels, respectiveV ends fof said coil springs being connected to the driving wheel whereas respective opposite ends are rigidly connected to arms arranged on a quill shaft rotatably mounted in the frame of the vehicle. The disadvantages of this construction are, namely, the necessity of` having a relatively large driving wheel diameter, of having a quill shaft, and Vof having to Vlocate the gearl transmission from the motor lto the axle between the driving wheels thus limiting lthe constructional length of the motor. in' addition, the coil springs arranged 'tangentially within the circumfer- .ence ofthe driving wheel are subjected vto centrifugal stress caused by their weight at high speeds. Furthermore, a construction is known in which elastic discs'are arranged lat the left and right sides' of the motor. To achieve the considerable elasticity required of the discs consisting of steel, the discs must have a Alarge diameter. ln addi- `tion the discs take up a certain amount of space on r either side of the motor-which space couldbe utilized for theaxial constructional length of the motor at greater outputs. Inithe tangential direction'these elastic discs have no resilience which also can be considered as -a -further disadvantage.

The present invention relates to an improvement lof la power transmission in motor-driven vehicles, in parjticular in railway .rolling stock, and according .to it, atleast one torsion bar spring is Varranged in the train of power transmission from the motor to the driving -wheels to take care of the required movement causedby thelsuspension between the motor and the driven wheels.

The above and still further objects of the present in- -pvention will become-apparent upon consulting the follow- :ing detailed description of the invention taken in con- -`junction with the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is'an elevational view, partly in section, of a flrstembodirnent of the present invention;

lFig. 2 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a second embodiment;

K .Fig 3 is an elevational view, partly in section, Vthird embodiment;

` Fig. 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, fourth embodiment;

`Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a iifthem- -bodiment of the present invention;

Fig.A 6 is .a sectional View taken valong the line l6--6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of a sixth embodiment;

'FigrS is a fragmentary sectional View of a seventh embodiment; and,

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary-'sectional view of an eighth embodiment.

Referring now in particular to Fig. 1, numeral 1 desig- Lnatesla'drivingmotor" for driving wheels of. a. railway ofa ofa

vehicle Land numeral i2 :is :a .pinion f on -the shaft of i. motor -1 which is. in driving fconnect-ion :with ai large :gear wheel 3. .The .gear wheel 3 .is frigidlvmountedton. a-1sleeve f8, the.' sleeve `S beingasupporte'd by: bearingsfA. off'al bearing 'bossrS connected'ta bearingblock, which in turnis Ysecured tolthetfra'mefl ofithe vehicle. Thesleeve i8=1is .rigidly .connected :to 'oneend.of -a torsion bar @9. L'fhe .torsionbari9 extendswith considerable .clearance through the hollow axle 13 'ofthe driving vwheels 314, 14.and is 'rigidly connected atits. otherendthroughl the intermediary ofiasleevelga splinell/and a-.couplingfpiece 12 tothe :axle .1-3 of the 'driving`V wheels.

:The motordrivesthe-axle13softhe driving wheels ;14,.14"throughf.the 'pinionand gear :wheell-Z, 3, thersleeve 8,ithe torsionbar9,-.theslceve 11),athe splinellrandrthe coupling .piece i12. .Accordingly,the torsionlbar 9-1isa .link in the trainof=power transmissionfrom the-motor 1 to the driving wheelsE4,l1i. -vJhen the axlerlfof-.the .driving :wheels .is displaced 1in vrelation to the Eframe 7 ofV the vehicle, the barf9zis'bentfalong its longitudinal: axis according to theaxis of elasticity. ri`herben'dingfstresses .which occur are -smallb'ecause of'fthevlength oflthefbar '9 so that it is also'possible to iit the raxisfof thef large -gear .wheel oit-set permanently Vfrom the .axis of the .axle 13 of the driving wheels by the amount offeccentricity Ie in ordertore'ducethe 'distancebetween the faxes of .thellarge.gearwwheel and the motor lshaft. iBecause ofthefgreat torsional'.elasticityv of thefbar 9,.:allthe-torque :shocks occurringduring motionfare :kept away tronrthe driving'. motor 1. :byl the utilization; or saidl torsionv elasticity. Furthermore uponstartingl of the vehicle, the motor canrotate about .La :relatively 'large `angle.(up tolhalf .a revolution) '.beforethevehicle starts to move. This is Vof'particularadvantageiin lconnectionwith single phase motors lgenerallynsed-in which high .voltages occ-ur aat .the brushes. on'starting since the collector segments under the'brushescan move due to the rotationxof the motor shaft althoughf the vehicle .is .still .at rest th'us-i preventing burnt spots .at the. collector. Withi the single phaseimotors the motor torque, pulsating with the doublefrequencyzof .the.current..supply, istaken up by the large'amount of tangential elasticity .and transmitted uniformly :to the vdriving -axle thus utilizing fully the. starting tractiveeifort fof thevehiclenpto the limit of the'adhesive friction.

Accordingitothe second embodiment shown-in` Fig.12, the'shaft 17 of the motorl takes' the form of. afho'llow shaftsupported intthebearings '16, 16'. Through'this shaft 17 a-torsionibar 15 withf-ampleA clearance-.extends and' is connected at. its rightV handen'drlS Vwithlthelslfiaft 17. The bar 15 is rigidly connectedat its other end with the driving pinion T2 byv means of aange 18,-andthe driving'. pinion l.2 yis supported 1in? the lbearings Vv19, 11:9' independently of.the..motor. ln the rst embodiment, --a vehicle with inside'frames :has been-illustrated, whereas inthe second embodiment,'.aivehic1e Vwith outsiderfram'es '7. has been shown. Accordingly, thev supporting-ofathe large gear wheel 3 isa-'carried-.out somewhat-:differently Athan that shown in Fig. '1; .in the-embodiment of'1Fig. 2 IaLgreater. length Vof theimotor ll is possible.

,.Dueto the..small diameter of the ytorsion 4bar1-`19,:a further. advantage is realized in that the"distancef2between vthe axes of the motor 1 'and the largezgear wheel.'3 can be further reduced since the clearanceibetween theformer `andl theiiange of the vwheelszcan be reducedby thezzdifference between. thediameter of anormal motor' shaft and Ythat of the .thiny torsion bar `15. VIn addition,;the removal of the. motor lcan be carried out 'downwardly after the bar 15 has Ibeen extractedzto the left.I after removal ofthe Vscrews A(not shown) in the coupling ange 18. VFurther -,the driving wheels 14,14 can similarly be lowered. outv of the l frame forthepurpose of overhauling since 'the torsion bar 9 together Withthe supportingsleeve 8 .can ybe withdrawn .to the leftV after removal of the coupling. piecef12.and of .the supporting sleeve 5.

According to the embodiment `shown.in"Fig. `3,.`the large gear wheel 3 is rigidly mounted on the .soliddriving axle 13'. Similarly, thebearing blockj2lfwhich'is supported lon the .axle rinthe bearingsZtl andj20 and which supports thedriving pinion 2 andfthefbearingsb22 and22,;follows' together awth .the driving ,axle'-13..the

motion'of the springs which vwith the frame 7 of the vehicle.

the spline 18' with the motor shaft 15a. The vertical guidance of the bearing block 21 takes place in conventional manner in horn blocks of the frame 7 or by means of horizontally disposed Vradial arms, one end ,of said arms being connected to' the bearing block and the other to the frame of the vehicle.

With the electric locomotives built nowadays all'the parts of the drive must be disposed within the space between the wheel tires because of the lbogie construction used. Since, however, the capacity of deection of bar and tube-shaped bodies decreases by the third power of ,their length, the ksingle torsion bar shown in the first three figures is no longer su'icient for increased displacement caused by the suspension. Accordingly, Fig. 4 shows a further embodiment of the invention.

In Fig. 4 the drive motor or drive means designated -by the numeral 1 is rigidly mounted on the frame and tted with a hollow drive shaft 23. Arranged within the drive shaft 23 at one end thereof is a connecting shaft 24. Positioned within the drive shaft 23 is an elastic tubular member 25 having opposite ends each with inner and outer surfaces.

-Tubular member 25 has its outer surface at one of its opposite ends secured to the hollow drive shaft 23 through the connecting sleeve 24. Extending into the tubular member 25 is torsion member 26,V which is supported solely at its extremities. One of the extremities of the torsion member 26 is xedly secured to the inner surface of the tubular member 25 at the end of the latter remote from the end secured to the hollow drive shaft. The other extremity of the torsion member 26 extends beyond the tubular member 25 and is operatively connected to the pinion `2, the latter being supported in the bearings To further increase the capacity for deection and the bending forces emanating from the drive motor 1-, an additional elastic tubular member 26 can be tted within the pinion 2, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5.V Referring with particularity toFig. there is shown a tubular vmember having opposite ends each with inner and outer ,-4.

surfaces, the inner surface at one end being xedly secured tothe adjacent end of the torsion member 26 and the outer surface contiguous to the outer end thereof being xed to the pinion 2.

To prevent racing of the drive motor should a break occur in the transmission means, dogs or abutments 26', 26" are operatively connecting to theV drive motor 1 and the driven pinion 2.. The respective abutments are engageable with each other upon breaking of the torsion member 26, to form an auxiliary coupling between the drive motor 1 and the driven pinion 2.

Normally, the dogs or abutments 26', 26", do not come into contact even under the greatest deflection encouritered, but form an auxilliary coupling upon a` breaking occurrring in the power transmission, thereby allowing l the vehicle to proceed under its own power until it is taken out of service.

The elasticity ofthe torsion member 26, as well as the various tubular members, such as 23, must be selected of a value at least sufficient to absorb the torsional forces emanating from the drive motor and the bending forces.

exibility is achieved by havingseveral resilient tubes y 28, 28', 28", 28" and 27 27` and 27", respectively, fitted into each other and rigidly connected to each other.

By this means each of these resilient tubes takes care of part of the necessary exing, so that for each part the individual exing is decreased and with the same overall stress an increased elastic motion between motor and axle is made possible. i

In comparison with the known elastic disc drive mentioned hereinbefore, the following advantagesV result from the power transmission according to the present invention:

1. Saving of space in axial direction,

2. Saving of weight by elimination of heavy elastic disc means,

3. Reduced price, and

4. Exceptionally great Velasticity in the tangential direction. Y 'A VWith all of the embodiments herein described, it is possible to give the driving wheels and axles a certain amount of lateral play by providing sucient axial clearance in the bearings.

A further advantage of the power transmission described is the possibility of keeping the unsprung weight to a minimum, i. e. to make the driving wheels and driving axles of light weight, the hollow bore of the latter contributing greatly to this end. The driving wheels are of particularly light weight because they require neither ttings for the engagement of transmission elements nor any counter weights for balancing such fittings.

Furthermore a power transmission according to the invention is inexpensive to manufacture since no special accuracy in the relative mounting of motor, power transmission and driving axle is necessary because of the elasticity present in such structure. Finally the possibility of offsetting between the center of the driving gear wheel and the center of the driving wheels by the eccentricity e allows a greater ratio between motor and driving axle to be chosen thus permitting a higher speed of the former and permitting installation of a motor of increased output.

Although many embodiments of the invention have been described and shown in the drawings, it should be noted that the invention may be realized in modified form and adaptations of the arrangements herein disclosed may be made as may readily occur to persons skilled in the art without constituting a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the objects and in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Power transmission means interconnected between drive means and driven means for coupling said drive means to said driven means, comprising a hollow drive shaft operatively connected to said driven means, a tubular member arranged within said hollow drive shaft and having one end thereof secured to one end of said hollow drive shaft, a torsion member supported solely at its 1 extremities and having one of said extremities extending through said tubular member and connected to the other end of said tubular member, the other of said extremities of said torsion member projecting beyond and terminating at a location spaced from said one end of said tubular member, and means operatively connecting said other of said extremities of said torsion member with said driven means, said torsion' member and said tubular member being vmade of elastic kmaterial having a value atleast suflicient to absorb torsional forces emanating from said drive means and bendingforces emanating lfromsaid driven means.

2. Power transmission means according to claim 1, including a further tubular member arranged about said torsion member and having one end connected to said torsion member and the other end connected to said driven means.

3. Power transmission means according to claim 1, including respective abutment means operatively connected to said drive means and to said driven means and engaging with each other upon breaking of said torsion member to form an auxilliary coupling between said drive means and said driven means.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 839,803 Amsler Ian. 1,. 1907 993,570 Webster May 30, 1911 1,275,029 Holy Aug. 6, 1918 g FOREIGN PATENTS 2,186 Great Britain Dec.`8, 1873 302,625 Great Britain 1928 

